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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2019)
November 1, 2019 T he C olumbia P ress Senior Moments with Emma Edwards Listening can lead to popularity My focus this week is on boredom. Seniors often are accused of being boring. Most of the time we are totally in- nocent, not knowing or wish- ing to be thought of as such. It’s hard to believe, but of- ten family and friends endure long conversations from us mostly begun and accentuat- ed with “I,” “My,” or “Me.” I was introduced to a word that’s new to me, abstemious- ness, or lack of self-indulgence. We need to wean ourselves from talking too long about ourselves. Admittedly, that is something we all enjoy doing but need to work on. If just making conversa- tion (often about oneself), perhaps five minutes could be our max. Since most of us can speak 150 words every minute, that would be sharing approximately 750 words. To give you an idea, this column averages 500 words. Over- heard, “No, no please contin- ue to talk! That glazed over look in my eyes doesn’t mean you are talking too much!” We really want to be includ- ed in occasions with family and/or friends and would not want the person hosting to say something like “No, let’s not include her or him as they talk too much and it takes them forever to tell a story.” Yikes! Is that me? Once upon a time, there was a Scottish philosopher, satir- ical writer, essayist, transla- tor, historian, mathematician and teacher by the name of Thomas Carlyle. He was born in 1795 in the village of Ec- clefechan, Dumfriesshire. It’s fun to glean knowledge from such a unique individual. He was a leading social crit- ic of early Victorian England. “A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder” is a saying attributed to him. Most of his quotes were short, to the point. A 1940s Readers Digest condensation of a short sto- ry from the Atlantic Monthly tells a story about Carlyle. He was out to dinner and a diner was monopolizing the conver- sation to the extreme limit of boredom. Carlyle was quoted as saying “Take me away and put me in a room by myself.” That is where abstemious- ness fits in, not only in regard to conversation and listening but in other limitations such as food or exercise. So, do women talk or use more words than men? A 2010 article I wrote spoke of men saying 7,000 words to a woman’s 20,000. Recently, however, I learned that that statistic has been debunked. In more than 25 studies, we learn that words aren’t gen- der-determined. A good way to limit the chance of “talking too much” is to practice the art of listen- ing. I would not say abstemious- ness fits into that particular art. In fact, listening carefully can increase one’s popularity, with others wanting to have you around. My closing thought: “People who don’t know me think I’m quiet. People who do know me, wish I were!” 7 Business and development tidbits B ranCh gets Coffee stand The new TLC credit union next to Walmart will feature a coffee house, the company announced. Red Leaf Organic Coffee will have an in-branch loca- tion that will have the same business hours as the credit union and serve a variety of espresso drinks, smoothies, energy drinks, local teas, house-made bakery items and breakfast sandwiches. The branch, which is ex- pected to open before the end of the year, also will have a Spotify station and free wi-fi. TLC is a division of Fibre Federal. The new branch is at 1771 Ensign Lane. M aking land attraCtive Where happenstance has given the county too many transient camps, the county has developed a learning ex- perience. The Public Works Depart- ment recently hired a con- tractor to clear brush and An artist’s rendering of the credit union’s coffee stand. small trees from vacant land in the North Coast Business Park. The plan was to make the upland areas more iden- tifiable for potential sale and keep the uplands from de- grading into wetlands. Another benefit is to “re- move the transient popu- lation that has moved into these areas and left mounds of garbage with potential health hazards,” according to an item in the county manag- er’s weekly bulletin. Just uplands are being cleared and larger trees will be left standing. Public Works will use the areas with larger trees to train personnel in tree falling, bucking and limb-fell- ing, according to the report. “We have received some outside interest from both Tillamook and Columbia counties in sending addition- al trainees to the site,” Coun- ty Manager Don Bohn wrote. Emergency planner to speak on water supply, purification An emergency planning expert will speak about wa- ter supply and purification during the next Ales & Ideas lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in the Lovell Room at Fort George Brewery, 14th and Duane streets, Astoria. Shan Martin was a task force engineer during Hur- ricane Katrina and an emer- gency manager at Camp Rilea during the 2007 storm. He’ll demonstrate several methods of collecting, stor- Senior lunch menu Monday, Nov. 4: Beef stew, roasted potatoes, carrots, tomato soup, pumpkin cake. Thursday, Nov. 7: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, spinach salad, berry trifle. The Warrenton senior lunch program is at noon (doors open at 10:30 a.m.) Mondays and Thursdays at Warrenton Community Center, 170 SW Third St. Suggested donation is $6 for ages 55 and older; $7 for those younger. For more information, call 503-861-3502. ing, and converting seeming- ly unusable water into clean, drinkable water, with a focus on techniques and sources specific to our community. The free lecture series is sponsored by Clatsop Commu- nity College and the brewery. COMMITTEE VACANCIES The CITY OF WARRENTON is seeking interested persons to apply for vacancies on the City’s various committees. We have vacancies on the following boards: • • • • • • • • • • • Warrenton Budget Committee - 2 positions (3 year term) Warrenton Planning Commission - 2 positions (4 year term) Warrenton Community Center Board - 1 position (4 year term) Warrenton Community Center Board- 1 position (1 year term) Warrenton Parks Advisory Board - 1 position (3 year term) Warrenton Parks Advisory Board - 1 position (2 year term) Warrenton Business Association - 3 positions (3 year term) Warrenton Business Association - 1 position (2 year term) Warrenton Urban Renewal Advisory Board - 4 positions (2 year term) Community Library Board- 3 Positions (4 year term) Applications are due by November 27, 2019. This is an excellent opportunity to participate in the important deci- sions affecting your community. For more information and appointment qualifications go to the City’s website at www.ci.warrenton.or.us, (click on the “Community” tab at top of the page and then “Citizen Involvement” from the drop down menu). If you need additional information, please contact Lindsay Duarte, Dep- uty City Recorder, at 503- 861-2233 ext. 102 or via e-mail: Lduarte@ ci.warrenton.or.us.
